Cassegrain Verdelho

Wine: Verdelho
Country: Australia	Region: Hastings River
Rating: Good	Price: $20 AUD
Recommendation: Recommended

Last week’s blog was a very quick and easy recipe and a relatively well known wine type, for this week's we have a very large meal and a comparatively rare wine type.

The food is a mixture of Australian and Thai food and a wine originating from Portugal but being produced in several different countries, in this case we are sampling a version from Australia.

The wine in this case is Verdelho, the grape being grown throughout Portugal and particularly on the island of Maderia. The grape has since become relatively successful in Australia including the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney.

The food we chose in this occasion was a veritable feast. The cooking was done by my brother David Lenton and my sister in law Aung Lenton. David originates from Australia but lives in England and brings the skills of cooking from scratch, including the ability to combine various regional recipes, with his international travel experience to achieve exceptional results. Aung originates from Thailand and today lives in Australia. Aung provides the discipline of traditional Thai cooking with fresh ingredients to also achieve exceptional results.

The wine chosen is the Cassegrain Verdelho which originates from the Hastings River region of Australia. I have had the privilege of visiting the Cassegrain winery and I am very impressed with the winery and the wines. The winery grows some of it’s own grapes and sources others from regions like the Hunter Valley, particularly for wines such as Verdelho and Semillion. I will provide a more in-depth review of the winery in a separate blog.

The Cassegrain Verdelho is lemon in color, exhibits a very slight oak bouquet and the taste is very refreshing. It includes hints of tropical fruits including passion fruit, cantaloupe (rock melon) and even strawberries. From my perspective I am a big fan of the Australian Verdelho’s and I am a big fan of the Cassegrain Version.

The selected dishes this week were Scallops in the half shell, boiled shrimp (prawns), Thai seafood dipping sauce, shrimp in red curry, eggplant (Aubergine) salad, fish cooked in banana leaf and Jasmine rice. The majority of the dishes were not created from recipes as such, instead they were mostly created from experience, taste and tradition. The following is a guide to our creations.

Scallops in the half shell.

One dozen fresh Scallops in the half shell (loose scallops can be substituted as can many other shellfish).

Finely chop the following ingredients, the quantity and volume to be determined according to taste.

Several cloves of garlic

Several red Chilies

Two tablespoons of ginger

¼ cup of fresh coriander leaves

Spring onions (green stems)

Black beans or good quality black bean sauce

Sprinkle the above ingredients onto the scallops as well as some dry white wine.

Pre heat oven to approximately 200 degrees C (400 F).

Place scallops in a shallow pan.

Cover with Aluminum foil.

Cook for around 5 minutes, being careful not to overcook.

Serve as desired, the scallops will need to be removed from the shell using a spatula or knife.

Boiled Shrimp

The boiled shrimp were pre Cooked (Boiled) Shrimp in the shell; we used 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) of store bought freshly cooked shrimp in the shell.

Shrimp Dipping Sauce

The quantities of the following are determined as per taste and preference.

Finely chop the following ingredients:

Garlic – several cloves

Chilies – several according to taste

Coriander leaves – ¼ cup

One shallot

Ginger - three table spoons

Combine with the following ingredients:
One tablespoon of fish sauce or Thai fish sauce (adjust to taste).

Sprinkle of Black pepper

¼ Quarter cup of Water

Juice of one lime

Teaspoon Sugar

Mix and serve in small bowl

Fish Cooked in Banana Leaf

For this dish we used Australian flathead which is a medium sized, sweet flavored, white meat fish but almost any white meat fish can be used.

Blend the following ingredients into a paste, spread on a banana leaf, wrap and cook in oven at 180 c (350 F) until cooked, approximately 10 minutes.

½ cup of Coriander (Cilantro) stork & leaves

¼ cup of Ginger

Three cloves of Garlic

One small white Onion

Red Curry Shrimp (Prawns)

Ingredients:

¼ cup curry paste

Tablespoon of shrimp paste

2 x 375 ml (12 ounces) tins of Coconut milk

Tablespoon of fish sauce

¼ cup of Tamarind pulp

Kaffir lime leaves, if possible, if not possible substitute grated lime (one medium)

½ Kilogram prawns (approximately 1 lb).

Juice of one lime.

¼ cup coriander (cilantro and Scallion).

Fry the following briefly until softened:

Curry paste

Shrimp paste

Combine the following ingredients; bring to the boil and simmer, stirring occasionally

Coconut milk

Fish sauce

Tamarind pulp

Kaffir lime leaves

Prawns (until warmed through)

Add to a large bowl for serving

Squeeze lime juice over top.

Sprinkle coriander (cilantro and Scallion) as garnish.

Thai Roasted Eggplant Salad with Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 lbs eggplants
4 large eggs, boiled, peeled, and quartered
1/4 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and poached in salted water
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, blended in a food processor or mixed with a pestle and mortar
2 medium shallots, peeled and sliced very thinly
About one tablespoon’s worth of palm sugar (If you don’t have it, use brown sugar.)
4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2-3 fresh bird’s eye chilies, thinly sliced
Cilantro leaves, optional

Prepare the eggplants as follows:

Cook the eggplants on a foil-lined baking plate set about 8-10 inch beneath the oven broil heating element and broil them on high until the skins are charred and the insides are soft.

Cut the peeled eggplants crosswise into 1-inch chunks and set aside. You may see some brown liquid collecting at the bottom; drain it off.

On the stove or in the microwave, melt the palm sugar with the fish sauce. Once the sugar is melted, stir in the lime juice and chopped chilies. Taste it and adjust as needed. The dressing should be primarily salty and sour and secondarily sweet.

Arrange the eggplant pieces, shrimp, and hard-boiled eggs on a serving platter. Sprinkle the sliced shallots on top.

Drizzle the dressing over everything.

Sprinkle the dried shrimp and cilantro leaves on top. Serve immediately.

Rating: Good

Winery Web Site

http://www.cassegrainwines.com.au/